Bar oil alternatives

I have cut bar oil with kerosene to reduce viscosity for over thirty years. This has been done for so many years for very cold weather falling. I've done it for over thirty years myself. I wouldn't over think it too much.

 

For the same amount of time if not longer we've cut the bar oil in really cold weather with a bit of mixed gas. Never an issue.

 

Works great. Just thin it out.

 

Bar oil up here runs $14 to $16+ a Gallon .
I just greatly prefer full synthetic.
It quiets the chain running in the bar noise down a lot.
In the winter , bar oil is a pain in the butt. Gotta warm it up just so it pours enough to get it in the oil tank on the saw.
I realize most people don't cut in temps that we do in The Interior . for my needs full synthetic motor oil is best

 

I like cutting in dead of winter. Best thing is because the sap is down baby! cleaner bar, first thing I do when it is below zero is build a fire after dropping a tree. I like to put the bar oil by the fire, and it is much more agreeable when it is fill up time.

 

Curious. How many gallons of b&c oil do you use per year?

In a pinch, I've used veg oil out of the cupboard.
I've got a few gallons of used fryer grease here, i guess i could use that up, but it would probably make me hungry for wings & french fries...lol

 

I've heard that a BBQ place wanted hickory, and other smoking woods to NOT be cut with oil that was petroleum based, as it affected the product's taste. Vegetable oil was the preference.

Not sure if that's a true story, but it makes sense.

 

This was last year
TSC shelf




and Rural King ad.



I'm guessing that with political winds shifting and the upheaval in the middle east, we won't be seeing these prices again...

 

Every year I accumulate 10-15 gallons of hydraulic oil from the kubota transmission oil change. This was starting to really add up so I too was thinking of a way to use it. I cut 30-50 face cord a year and do some chainsaw milling, mostly for board and baton to cover outbuildings. I really wanted to use the hydraulic oil for bar oil and auxiliary oiler for the chainsaw mill but wasn’t crazy about the oil slinging off the tip and ruining 36” Stihl bars. So I found an oil supplier that sells tackifier, I think for guys who do rust proofing oil spray. I bought a gallon 4 yrs ago and still have plenty left. It’s thick like molasses, I can’t even pour it in the winter unless I bring it in the house overnight. I’ll take a gallon of hydraulic oil and add a “glub” of tackifier. Maybe 1.5 oz and mix it with a paint stirrer from the dollar store that fits in my drill. Takes about 1 minute of mixing and then I check the viscosity between my thumb and index finger and it’s every bit as stringy as the Stihl oil. Probably costs less then $1.00 a gallon and I’ve never had any equipment issues .
Just my 2 cents.

 

I've cooked/smoked a LOT of bbq. I'm not believing it.

 

That is AWESOME.
Will be looking for a little of that stuff.
I have access to a place that fills 55G drums every few weeks. They would be happy if I filched a few gallons here and there....they pay big bucks to have it hauled off.
That is really cool.
Gratitudes!
Sca

 

Adding tackifier to a readily available supply of CLEAN waste oil makes really good sense.

 

TD,
I'm into my 5th gallon for the year.
Which seems to be the average.
Sca

 

Used to be that wouldn't last me 5 days. When I was falling timber full time. If I was in big wood and running my 3120 it wouldn't last 4 days.
When I had a firewood business I would use 1 1/2 to over 2 gallons a week or about 30 gal per year.
At this time . I'm not using 5 gal a year.

 

Bar oil is usually non detergent SAE 30 oil. Anything close viscosity wise should work.

I personally use bar oil. I've had luck finding on sale and have 5 gallons on the shelf.

I have a habit of picking up used chainsaw chain to save money. Alot of chain is used once and thrown away. My last batch of 50 chains were all covered with heavy black carbon and crud. I don't know what the owner used for bar oil but it wasn't bat oil. He ran a landscape business and I assumed he was using dirty old lawnmower oil. I clean them up with dawn soap and hot water in an ultrasonic cleaner. After I'm satisfied with the level of cleanliness I lube the chains in a mix of gear lube, bar oil, and new motor oil....really what ever runs out of a jug of oil after it's empty or the job is done. I run the chains and oil through the ultrasonic tank to lube up the chains deep into the pins and links.

 

The thing I don't like about used chains is the side wear on the drivers.
I can't prove that it increases bar groove wear. But so many bars are made of softer steel it seems nowadays. And Bars are EXPENSIVE , course, chain is expensive also. I guess I just get more attached to a good bar than I do chains.
For the cutting performance I expect, both chains and bars wear out faster than I want.
What kind of ultrasonic cleaner do you use ? Only ones I know of are for cleaning brass. ?

 

I have a Cole Palmer ultrasonic cleaner. Old surplus item. Any ultrasonic cleaner that has a tub should work. I fill the tub with water and put the chains, cleaner, and oil in cheap Tupperware knock-off containers. You loose a bit of cleaning power with the plastic tub but it's so much easier to clean up and change chemicals. For some small small chainsaw parts I've just used Ziploc bags with degreaser. Toss the bag after one use. They will get lots of little holes from the cavitation if used long enough.

I'm picky about used chain. Has to be name brand.... Stihl, Oregon, or Husqvarna. If I wouldn't buy it new, I don't want it used. Many companies and state agencies won't resharpen chain. I don't know if it insurance or just easier to buy new vs bid out sharpening.

 

Wow, first dull chains, Ya that'd be Great !
I never thought about using a cleaner on my chains. Some guys that were buddies with the mechanics @ a camp would clean some chains in the parts washer if they got a bunch of pitch on them.
Usually they would get in some rock when finishing off a buckin a big spruce log.
They ground better when nice and clean with no pitch in them.

 

If I had a parts washer I'd use that too. A good grease cutting solvent would probably work better than my Dawn and hot water. I'm running the ultrasonic cleaner in the house and the fumes would suck. Running flammable solvents in an ultrasonic cleaner will generate alot of fumes.

There are a few solvents made to clean firearms in large ultrasonic tanks. They don't generally generate hazardous fumes since there marketed to be used inside.

When I was young we would just soak pitch covered chains in diesel fuel and or kerosene. Always had those solvents on the farm. Fuel used to be less than a dollar a gallon too so it made for cheap parts cleaner.